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What a difference a year can make.
In 2022, Ireland made history, first when they won the second test of the Steinlager Series to claim their first win over the All Blacks on New Zealand soil, then again when they won the series in the following match.
“We said it was going to be the start of our World Cup year,” Ireland coach Andy Farrell said after claiming the series win. “I think it is probably a little bit bigger than that. They keep turning up and surprising me. The bunch are just tight.”
The first win was the start of 17 in a row for Ireland, with this weekend’s quarter-final against New Zealand giving the men in green a chance to tie the record for consecutive wins by a tier-one nation. The All Blacks are joint holders of that record alongside England - with both streaks ended by the Irish.
As Farrell said after winning the series in New Zealand, it was a moment that instilled belief and confidence in the Irish, now ranked as No 1 in the world. At Stade de France on Sunday morning, they will look to continue their winning streak against their Kiwi counterparts - and end their horror run of quarter-final exits at the World Cup.
But they meet a vastly different New Zealand team. Much like the Steinlager Series win unified the Irish, it forced the All Blacks to reassess where they were and ultimately sparked big changes in the team.
Of the All Blacks’ 23-man squad for the third test of the Steinlager Series, there have been 13 changes. Of those, eight players who featured for the All Blacks are not in the squad, with the others being positional changes.
Included in that is a new-look pack with a revamped prop rotation and different combinations at lock and in the loose forwards. In the backline, Richie Mo’unga starts at first five-eighths after entering from the bench when the sides last met, with Beauden Barrett moving to fullback and Jordie Barrett to second five.
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The All Blacks coaching staff has also gone through a transformation since that series as well.
“Last year matters in the sense of taking the lessons, but I believe we’re a totally different team to July last year,” All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith said. “As a group that series really galvanised us. I can’t wait.”
Ireland have a much more settled roster from the last time the two sides met. Of their starting XV, the only changes see Garry Ringrose and Iain Henderson in the starting side at centre and lock respectively, although only two of the eight reserves for Sunday’s clash were in that squad.
“It’s just about the here and now. What’s gone on in the past is irrelevant to us this week,” Ireland coach Farrell said this week.
“We’re just trying to get better as a team, so are they, and roll on in the competition. What would be at the forefront of both teams is the mutual respect for where both teams are sitting right now, but at the same time, the competition is where it should be for a quarter-final. I’m sure about that.”
All Blacks team for Rugby World Cup quarter-final: Beauden Barrett, Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith, Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Shannon Frizell, Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot. Reserves: Dane Coles, Tamaiti Williams, Fletcher Newell, Sam Whitelock, Dalton Papali’i, Finlay Christie, Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown.
All Blacks team from the third test of the 2022 Steinlager Series: Jordie Barrett, Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, David Havili, Sevu Reece, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Scott Barrett, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Nepo Laulala, Codie Taylor, George Bower. Reserves: Dane Coles, Aidan Ross, Ofa Tuʻungafasi, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papali’i, Folau Fakatava, Richie Mo’unga, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
Ireland team for Rugby World Cup quarter-final: Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Johnny Sexton, Jamison Gibson-Park, Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Peter O’Mahony, Iain Henderson, Tadgh Beirne, Tadgh Furlong, Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter. Reserves: Ronan Kelleher, David Kilcoyne, Finlay Bealham, Joe McCarthy, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Jimmy O’Brien.
Ireland team from the third test of the 2022 Steinlager Series: Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Johnny Sexton, Jamison Gibson-Park, Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Peter O’Mahony, James Ryan, Tadgh Beirne, Tadgh Furlong, Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter. Reserves: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Kieran Treadwell, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Joey Carberry, Keith Earls.
